By Victoria Stone-Meadows
A late parcel delivery for people in Cranbourne East may not be Australia Post’s fault, following the carjacking of a Star Track delivery van on Tuesday 21 March.
A delivery driver left his van parked on the side of Waterside Drive at about 9.15am to quickly carry a parcel to a nearby house.
As the delivery driver stepped away from the van, leaving the keys in the ignition, an unknown man approached the vehicle.
The delivery man heard the other man get into the driver’s seat of the van and turn on the engine.
Before the carjacker had a chance to drive away, the delivery man ran back to the van and tried to pull the keys from the ignition.
The thief started to drive away and pushed the delivery man out of the van, leaving him with cuts and abrasions to his hands and knees.
The delivery van was recovered a short time later in the small town of Nyora after being tracked by GPS and the engine shut off remotely.
Most of the packages in the back of the van had been emptied of their contents by the time police caught up with the stolen vehicle.
Three people were arrested and questioned in relation to the theft of the van and of the parcels.
A 26-year-old man from Gembrook has been charged with theft of motor vehicle, theft, handling of stolen goods and committing an offence while on bail.
He was remanded in custody to appear the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 22 March.
Detective Senior Constable from Casey Crime Investigation Unit Dan Jacobi said it could take some time to recover the stolen goods.
“Some of the mail was taken out of the van and while we have recovered the packing, we have no idea what was inside the packages,” he said.
“It could take weeks to find out what is missing because Australia Post doesn’t know what’s in these parcels and we also have no idea.”
